Abstract PI: MILLER, WILLIAM C Project: 2T32AI007001-34 Title: Training in Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV Accession Number: 12156188 ================== NOTICE: THIS ABSTRACT WAS EXTRACTED FROM APPLICATION AND HAS NOT BEEN PROOFED BY AN SRA.WHEN THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH THE APPLICATION SCANNING PROCESS, THE EXTRACTED TEXT MAY BE INCORRECT OR INCOMPLETE. ================== The Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV (STD/HIV) Training Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) is engaged in its 33rd consecutive year of support from the National Institutes of Health. STDs and HIV remain major public health challenges, necessitating the training of scientists from a variety of fields. The UNC STD/HIV Training Program has been extremely effective, with nearly 90% of former trainees since 1990 remaining in research, teaching, or public health. Over the years, the program has adapted to changes in the academic and research environments and remains an exemplary training program. In this competitive renewal application, we retain the fundamental strengths of our program, while simultaneously enhancing the training experience to ensure continued success of our trainees. The goals of the STD/HIV Training Program at UNC are to: 1) Train pre- and post-doctoral trainees to conduct outstanding STD/HIV research. 2) Foster the development of the skills necessary to conduct productive interdisciplinary research. 3) Facilitate professional growth and development to ensure academic and research success. Our program engages 23 faculty members from four departments (Microbiology & Immunology; Infectious Diseases; Epidemiology; and Health Behavior/Health Education, Our faculty has a strong record of interdisciplinary research and collaboration. In addition to providing the strongest possible scientific training to our 6 predoctoral and 4 postdoctoral trainees, we will enhance our training program in this application by increasing our focus on translational research, emphasizing interdisciplinary research and communication, and providing additional support for professional development. We have also added additional mentor support for trainees and introduced training for the mentors. We have also developed two new seminars, including one focusing on research ethics in STD and HIV research, and additional training experiences for the trainees. We believe our training record is outstanding, and we will continue to work to improve the training for young investigators in STDs and HIV. RELEVANCE (See instructions): The Training in Sexually Transmitted Diseases and HIV Program seeks to train pre- and post-doctoral trainees to conduct outstanding research in the field of STD/HIV, to foster the development of skills necessary to conduct productive interdisciplinary research, and to facilitat professional growth and development to ensure academic and research success.